Resolute Gujarat easily kept Delhi at bay and ensured a place in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal by topping the Elite groups’ points-table following a drawn match here on Friday.
Set a target of 292 to win, Gujarat began its chase nine overs before lunch and reached 128 for two at tea when the captains chose to call off the contest. By gaining three points by virtue of taking the first-innings lead, Gujarat (29 points) moved to the top of combined rankings of 18 teams, spread over two Elite groups. Delhi (18) collected one point and went out of contention for a place in the quarterfinals. Top five finishers qualify to the last-eight stage.
In the last round, beginning on February 12, Gujarat hosts Andhra (27) while Delhi, in an inconsequential match, plays Rajasthan (16) here.
RANJI TROPHY ROUND VIII DAY FOUR | AS IT HAPPENED
On the final day, Delhi resumed at 228 at four and reached 333 for eight before declaring its second innings. If 105 runs came in 19.5 overs, it was mainly due to the positive intent of Himmat Singh (70 n.o., 6x4, 2x6). Overnight not-out Jonty Sidhu made reached his half-century but did not last long. Axar Patel took three wickets to finish with four for 91.
When Gujarat batted, the early loss of Priyank Panchal gave Delhi some hope. After lunch, though Delhi added the wicket of Samit Gohil, the visiting team stayed in control with an in-form Bhargav Merai (42 n.o., 5x4) and first-innings centurion Manprit Juneja (51 n.o., 8x4) adding 87 runs in 17.2 overs. Thereafter, the play was called off.
- Delhi -1st innings: 293
- Gujarat -1st innings: 335.
- Delhi -2nd innings: Anuj Rawat c Kalaria b Bhatt 133, Hiten Dalal lbw b Gaja 1, Dhruv Shorey c Merai b Patel 34, Nitish Rana c Juneja b Nagwaswalla 10, Jonty Sidhu c Merai b Kalaria 52, Himmat Singh (not out) 70, Kunwar Bidhuri c and b Patel 27, Siddhant c Gandhi b Patel 2, Simarjeet Singh b Patel 0, Extras (lb-1, nb-2, w-1) 4, Total (for eight wickets decl. in 88.5 overs) 333.
- Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-96, 3-113, 4-219, 5-240, 6-315, 7-330, 8-333.
- Gujarat bowling: Kalaria 20-1-71-1, Gaja 15-4-67-1, Nagwaswalla 21-2-77-1, Patel 25.5-1-91-4, Bhatt 7-1-26-1.
- Gujarat -2nd innings: Samit Gohil c Simarjeet b Siddhant 26, Priyank Panchal c Rawat b Siddhant 0, Bhargav Merai (not out) 42, Manprit Juneja (not out) 51, Extras (b-5, nb-2, w-2) 9, Total (for two wickets in 35 overs) 128.
- Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-41.
- Delhi bowling: Siddhant 9-3-18-2, Simarjeet 9-1-28-0, Khejroliya 7-1-32-0, Bidhuri 4-0-17-0, Baroka 4-0-20-0, Rana 2-0-8-0.
- Points: Gujarat 3 (29); Delhi 1 (18).
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